Flowers have maintained a partnership with insect pollinators from the beginning. They are masters at attracting these love messengers and perpetuating the species through pollination. They use countless ways to accomplish this goal.

Translate

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Pollinators, the night shift

We are familiar with day-blooming flowers and day-visiting
insects, bees, butterflies, flies and a few others. These insects usually
prefer nice, warm, sunny days to visit flowers. In fact, their muscles
need a certain critical temperature to begin functioning. It is possible to see
some of these pollinators sitting still during chilly mornings, waiting for the
sun to warm them up sufficiently so they can take to the air.

Nocturnal moths are another story. Some are well adapted to
colder temperatures; they also have eyes that allow them to fly at night.
Fortunately for them there are flowers that bloom at this time. Such flowers
are likely to produce more nectar at night; they also release aromas that the
moths are well attuned to and that enable them to find the flowers.

So when the day pollinators complete their 9-5 schedule, the
night shift takes over. Let us clarify that many of these night fliers are more
active at dawn or dusk than in the dead of the night. They are called
crepuscular pollinators.

You may be fortunate enough to have one of those
visitors to your garden if you have moonflowers, evening primroses, Nicotiana
or morning glories. It can be quite a treat to see hawk moths in a regular
basis visiting your garden; some seem to have a fixed schedule and show up
almost daily at their appointed time. They are large, fly silently and unfurl
their straw-like tongues in front of long-tubed flowers like the ones mentioned. They
look like hummingbirds drinking nectar while suspended in the air. They have
handsome patterns on their wings, not as striking as those of butterflies, but
very beautiful in a sedate way.

Other dawn or dusk pollinators are less familiar to
most of us. The squash bee is an early riser, following the schedule of squash
blossoms and finishing her daily chores just after dawn or at mid-morning when
blossoms begin to wilt. They are said to be up before sunrise; however, I
have never seen them so early. Maybe I should spend more time in the pumpkin
patch and I may catch some of them.

Worth mentioning are truly nocturnal pollinators of a
different stripe, bats. Most cactus bloom at night, they are strongly scented
and produce big flowers with abundant nectar, just right for such large fliers. In the absence of bats, the landscapes of the West would be profoundly different, without the rich flora of saguaros, barrel cacti and prickly pears.

3 comments:

I knew for years that the big sphingids can generate body heat nearly like birds or mammals. But last month I had to catch a Manduca that got into my tent during a very cold night in the mountains. It was quite a shock to feel that warm little body in my hands - really like a bird....

What a wonderful miracle! We have a Hawk Moth! I have many Carnation plants (flowers) among others on our balcony and I just happened to go out at the right time to see and watch this most lovely moth happily attending each flower, and there are many! I did not know until now we had such beautiful evening guests. Lucky Me!

Followers

About Me

We are all part of the web of life. Animals need plants and plants need animals and ultimately we all need each other in a very intricate and complex web of interactions.
A biologist from Argentina, resident of the United States for many years. Author of: "Bee Basics, An Introduction to Our Native Bees" by Beatriz Moisset, Ph.D and Stephen Buchmann, Ph.D.
All photos and content are copyrighted. Please, contact me if you want to use or purchase something.